UFC coming to Wii, handhelds

While Ultimate Fighting Championship matches are strictly confined to "the Octagon," publisher THQ has no desire to similarly fence in its series of games based on the mixed martial arts league. In a conference call with investors today, THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell confirmed that the franchise will expand onto new platforms.

Coming soon: Hand-to-hand combat in the palm of your hand.

"Over time, we plan to build our UFC franchise by expanding international sales and by developing games on new platforms, such as handhelds and Nintendo Wii," Farrell said.

Farrell did not specify when the series would debut on those new platforms, but his confirmation came after discussion of THQ's plans to annualize the franchise. The executive didn't get into details about next year's game, other than to say that it would feature new gameplay modes and features.

@Rottenwood
Juxtaposition is Madden. Madden is mainstream but the last time i owned a Madden copy before last year was in the 90s. The gameplay has gotten more and more core every single year. And before you say it i'm no Madden fan, just giving an example. I agree though with what you say about hardcore gamers. I am still trying to get my friends to get Red Faction and Blazblue and all they are doing is trying to get me to buy the new Madden that's coming out. Worst mistake i made getting that game last year. I'll stick with Fifa.

@mikeyvp87
If Call of Duty's gameplay is 'hardcore,' the term is utterly meaningless. While undeniably addictive and well-made, Call of Duty takes five minutes to learn, and besides the graphics, is barely an upgrade from old FPS titles from 15 years ago. My stoner brother owns nothing but a used 360 and a pile of Call of Duty and Halo games; if he's a "core" gamer, than as I said, anyone who has picked up a controller in the last two decades also qualifies.
To me, a hardcore gamer would be someone who plays a lot of games, but also makes an effort to ensure he or she plays all of the best stuff coming down the pipeline, regardless of how popular, accessible, or hip it is. It's the person eagerly awaiting a game that 98% of the people who own Madden or Call of Duty have never even heard of because they don't care enough to do the legwork to find them. It's the yardstick by which hardcore film or literature buffs are measured, and I don't see why we should be any different.

@Rottenwood
Casual/Hardcore has nothing to do with being mainstream. It decribes gameplay. For instance COD is a hardcore series that has achieved mainstream success. Madden has gotten more and more core with each passing iteration. Compare the Wii version with the next gen version of Madden and you'll see a clear example of core versus casual.

@mikeyvp87
Madden doesn't lean towards 'core' at all; it's arguably the most mainstream game in the industry, other than Wii Fit or perhaps Call of Duty. It can certainly be played skillfully, but it's just a football simulation. My father knows how to run a football team, and his greatest video game achievement was getting a Super Nintendo during the Christmas rush.
Conduit and MadWorld failed to sell because they're poor, shallow games with limited appeal. Infamous is already tumbling off the sales charts; does that mean the PS3 isn't for core gamers, either? When a third party developer makes a game worthy of carrying Mario Galaxy's jock, people might actually buy it.

@Rottenwood
I agree that Mario Galaxy and Zelda are more for the core than Madden but if you put casual on one side and hardcore on the other Madden leans more toward the core. It requires a lot more skill than your average casual game and it is definetly one of the more complicated games out there. UFC is the same way. I could have used hardcore games like conduit or madworld to show how core games sell on the Wii and how those same developers would be better off working on the other systems but why beat a dead horse.

@ mariokart64fan: i understand this, and knowing the wii, they'll have to implement some motion controls, cus they just do. and the wii isnt nearly as precise as actual punching, and you would have to swing the remote/nunchuck harder than a fist for it to respond. im not against the wii, but some games weren't meant to go on all systems.
also UFC is a very complicated game, and there aren't enough buttons on the remote to support all of that. sorry man, its a no for me

@mikeyvp87
I'm not sure your evidence supports your conclusion; neither UFC nor Madden are 'core' games. Their majority audience is 16-30 casual male gamers that only buy sports and shooter games. That's not meant to be an insult, but if those guys are 'core' gamers, than anyone is. The guy with Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess on his shelf is way more of a core gamer than your average Madden buyer.

@mikeyv87 I can understand your Wii statements but leave the PSP out of this sports game sell decently, there was even a Madden bundle, but I think of it as a fighting game and UFC via ad-hoc sounds like alot of fun

@Rottenwood
I understand that but still the games have not sold. Ask EA about their sports games and how they sell on the Wii. I believe Madden didn't break 70,000 copies on Wii and was outsold by the PS2 version. I give publishers credit for trying but at this point don't you just have to come to terms and accept that most of the 53 million Wii owners are not core games.

@ bentleg
That wouldn't really work either. First things first. The two right shoulder buttons block high and low. PSP only has one, so what's going to replace blocking low? Secondly, how would somone initiate a muay tai clinch? That is normally done with L1/LB then moving the analog stick. It cant be the L button on psp because the L button plus the analog stick would be needed to do a takedown. Just moving the stick on it's own wouldn't work because that clinches. Plus the L button would be needed for both changing to a low attack as well as doing a special attack such as a superman punch or high kick. Now for the problems with the ground game. The R button would still be needed on the ground to block. The L button would be needed for special transitions. There's no buttons left for standing up or doing submissions.

I am not sure why people don't think this game will not work on the psp. You do not really use both analogs much in the game so you can map the movement to the d-pad and the grappling to nub. And then remove the high attack modifier when you on the ground as it is default and put the sumbissions on the R trigger; sorted.

Mature games don't sell on the Wii and DS. Someone needs to let Farrell know that before he starts development. Yeah, me and some of my fellow gamers buy them, but that's it. And those who already wanted a good UFC game bought it for their HD consoles.

the wii version could be pretty decent if they managed the controls, kept a good frame-rate, and had clean and polished graphics. They might have to add the wii motion+ to keep the controls acceptable. Overall I think that UFC vould be a solid game for the wii if they do it right, and non-lagging online would be a nice bonus

@ nini200
I have Wii, and it is a gimmick, nothing more... By the time I bought mine, it was to late, Nintendo had already deceived me. So your quote does not apply!
UFC on Wii, COULD be good, but Ive had so many horrible expierances with Wii games its hard to be optimistic!
The idea of flick left to transition, you have got to be kidding me.
I cant imagine how the Wii-Remote could possible do justice to a UFC game, not enough buttons, and the button layout directly contridicts the sensible configuration they used for 360, and PS3. The gimmicky motion controls, I dont even want to get started on that, but hey atleast its not a FPS, have you played any of them on Wii, ever had the pointer slide off the screen to the right, then reappear on the left, so you now have to scroll 2 screens to the left just to recenter the crosshair (ALL Wii FPS,s do this)!
Wii version will suck, annual releases are a bad idea!!!! Why not release a good game, then charge for a BIG UPDATE each year?

Do we really need a new UFC game every year? How about every couple of years so that the changes in game play will be significant. I hope UFC doesn't go the way of WWE by making small "improvements" every year to justify a $60 price point. I dunno... maybe I'm just a pessimist. I hope UFC succeeds though

Im glad this did well because that will hopefully spawn way better sequels. I'd really like to be able to take this game anywhere on psp so I cant wait to hear about next year's game!
@ antoniopuerta16: lol I've never heard somebody saying expand from a next gen console to a last gen. that makes no sense and the ps2 could definitely not handle a game like that.

@Spikedjester
Why wouldn't they make ti for other system? if you want them to improve and make more games they need money. So don't see why if they make a sound business decision why ppl are against it

Lol so much respect for THQ after making a great UFC game. Lol so much respect LOST for THQ after making a great UFC game, rehashed every year, and ports to lesser consoles in order to keep up their sales spike. Sell outs...

Annualizing this will ruin it..... keep it every 3-4 years to make a decent game instead of superficially updating it every 12 months
@ nuttybanana - this isn't the first UFC game at all, it's been around since the days of Dreamcast. Frankhurt is soooo right.....

@mikeyvp87
Why would they develop for the Wii? Because the Wii has an enormous install base and if they make a decent game, they'll rake in some bucks.
I hope they do, at any rate. I look forward to the hilarious YouTube videos and potential lawsuits of a motion-detection UFC game.

Oh Boy, here we go again, Why can't you people get over the "Wii is a family console crap"? Fact is, it's a game console and games are made for game consoles, UFC is a Game as well as a sport so cut the crap. Funny how people know soooo much about the Wii (That have never played it or even given it a try) when it's getting a decent game that is even remotely non family then they claim it's a "Family Friendly" console and doesn't get any hardcore games", well if you continue to bash every non family oriented game that comes out for it (For which it has quite a bit especially now) then what do you expect? Words of Wisdom from a very Wise Philosopher, "If you don't want it, Don't buy it".
On topic, if it has create a character and online options, this could be really good. Great news on Wii and portables for once GS. Now all I need to hear is that KOF 12 or KOF 2002 Unlimited Match is also coming out for the Wii with full Online Play. Once I hear that news, I'd be a happy camper. I'd prefer KOF 2002 Unlimited Match more though.

The Wii is a family console and the UFC isn't exactly happy family material. Anyone interested in this game needs a console that does it justice. I agree with previous comments that the time and money should be invested in what's already working to make it better. We're all aware that new styles etc would be great additions so focus on that.
@FrankHurt
It's the first game and you're already labeling it that already?? Did you think it up yourself or did mummy give you a hand?

Here is a question that i want to ask publishers. It has been proven time and time again that most games without Mario or party in it don't sell. So why waste time putting resources into a product that will sell and control poorly when you can use those same resources to make to overall experience better for the other systems.